Mumbai: A case has been filed against Triveni Developers, a real estate company, managed by father-son duo Ashok Jethwa and Mihir Jethwa, for defrauding an 84-year-old man of ₹80 lakh and three other persons of varying amounts – ₹35 lakh, ₹1.74 crore and ₹50 lakh.
According to the FIR, Rameshchand Joshi, a resident of Borivali East and an accountant in the MJ market, wanted to purchase a flat in 2015 and he chose a 1 BHK flat on the 8th floor of the Neel Akash co-op-housing, a construction by Triveni builder. The deal was finalised at ₹80 lakh.
On March 17, 2015, Joshi and his two daughters, paid ₹2.5 lakhs for registration, including stamp duty. After two days a payment of ₹45 lakhs was made, and the remaining ₹35 lakhs were paid through a cheque.
Despite promises of possession of the flat in August 2016, the developer kept delaying the process citing government permissions. An MoU was signed on April 20 2021, setting December 31, 2021, as the possession date and the developer was supposed to return ₹80 lakh to the complainant if the flat was not given on time. The developer failed and set a new MoU with a deadline of June 30, which also didn’t materialise.
Case filed against both accused
Later, Joshi filed a case under Indian Penal Code sections 34 (act done for common intention), 406 (breach of trust), and 420 (cheating and dishonestly), along with relevant provisions of the Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors.
One of Joshi’s two daughters, Jigna, alleged that multiple complaints have been registered against the developers in Borivali, Kasturba, and Dahisar police stations. She said that Kasturba police station filed an FIR after she met additional police commissioner Rajiv Jain. Attempts to contact deputy commissioner of police Smita Patil remain unanswered.
